


bad dreams and sweet nights

by strze_lec



Series: happily ever after: bedtime stories and more [1]
Category: The Resident (TV 2018)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-28
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-06 22:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,500
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26156371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strze_lec/pseuds/strze_lec
Summary: “… kinda turns me on.”His thumb starts drawing more spiraling motions closer to her neck – tothe spoton her neck – and tingling anticipation running through the line of her spine is prompting her to make him stop the tease, for pure or sinister reasons though – she cannot decide.“You know, those times when you’re allthere’s no chance in hell you’re doing thisand I’m likeyeah, you won’t tell me what I can and cannot doand alsoyeah? Tell me what to do, babyat the same time.”Thebad dreams and sweet nightsyou knew, now slightly rewrited.
Relationships: AJ Austin/Mina Okafor
Series: happily ever after: bedtime stories and more [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1899409
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	bad dreams and sweet nights

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys, short explanation - I've decided to change the structure of _happy ever after: bedtime stories and more_ , because with possibility of more chapters being couple of parts long, I totally didn't like how the fic looked like. The stories sort of worked on their own anyway, linked by a timeline (kept in an unchronological order) and a vague connection to the plot of other chapters, so instead of having the fic with multiple chapters, I've decided to have separate fics in a series gathering them all together.  
> I hope the change doesn't bother you much. I've also slightly rewrited this chapter, so - why don't you have a read? 
> 
> For those who didn't get the chance to read yet - the series focuses on what happens once Mina and AJ cross the final line and become a couple. Will they find their _and they lived happily ever after_? Or maybe there is nothing to find, because they're already living it?
> 
> Usual kudos to my beta.

_Three weeks, one day_

He stirs in his sleep, his thalamus – part of his brain responsible for analyzing stimuli coming from the surroundings – recognizing the sound next to him as not belonging to this particular situation, alas worth checking up. _Crack, crack._ Foil sliding down the object, his mind noted wordlessly, classifying the motion as probably non-threatening, yet unusual enough, the process of waking up has already been started.

On the verge of rising to full consciousness, AJ inhales deeply. Sudden silence, then the sound of teeth sinking into a crunchy treat replaces the tearing of the foil. It's not peanut type of crunchy, he would have thought if he wouldn’t been taken straight from a slumber, more like a dry…

“Are you eating a wafer in the middle of the night?” he questions in a low tone, his voice rough with sleep. It comes out slightly more coherent than a regular slur.

He didn't open up his eyes, but can almost sense her rolling hers beside him. Mina doesn't answer his inquiry, instead she mutters, seemingly annoyed, “Miraculously you have possessed a light sleep tonight, huh.”

“I don’t sleep that–”

“You have no trouble sleeping through a pager ringing right behind your ear,” she cuts in, too familiar with this bullshit. More rustling follows in the dark.

He drops the topic, aware she’s right and that he’s still too unfocused to try to pretend she’s not. Though if not this one, he can still get the upper hand somewhere else.

“Why are you eating sweets at...” he cracks open one eyelid to check the time on a screen shouting bright red numbers at him, "three am?" then closes it back and because he wouldn't be himself if he didn't ask... “And why am I not having a wafer as – Oh,” a bar she has just unwrapped for him makes a contact with a palm he keeps on his chest. 

“Thanks,” he mumbles before taking a bite. All of sudden the reason _why_ that snack time happened isn't on the forefront of his mind as a milk chocolate icing melts on his tongue.

She hums her acceptance and continues eating. Actually, they stay silent for a while as the room is filled only with chewing sounds. Once he hears her moving, AJ looks up and in the faint light casted into the room by the moon, curtains not fully shut, he finds her twisting to throw the empty packaging on a nightstand and gathering a glass, then rising it to her lips.

“Wanna milk?” she proposes after a few gulps.

“Yeah,” he nods when he's done as well and sits up to reach for the cup. At the same time, he becomes painfully aware of all the crumbs falling from his T-shirt to the duvet on his lap. He probably should’ve done it the other way around.

Taking the drink from her outstretched hand, he could swear they share a brain cell or perhaps three, because right this moment Mina pushes the cover up on her side to efficiently throw away the remains of their sweet crime. So they will both worry about the mess in the morning. Perfect.

Also, when exactly did she get so comfortable around here to shamelessly send the crumbs to the floor of his bedroom?

AJ licks the luscious taste from the corners of his mouth as he sets the glass on his nightstand, then comments, “That's kinda cute you've taken the wafer for me as well.”

It really is, he didn’t expect that sort of behavior form _his girlfriend_ , not anytime soon, at least. They’ve been learning the rules of their relationship anew, the romantic aspect bringing a lot to figure out. Though, truth be told, the process wasn’t nowhere near as weird as they’ve expected it to be.

Most people crossing the line between friendship and love inevitably find themselves in awkward situations that previously felt normal and it’s solely due to the relationship they had – rearranging its balance. Of course, Mina and August weren’t spared the doubtful fun either. One would even think, it’s going to be especially difficult for them given the fact how the root of their personal relationship was grown into their work relationship.

Things between them changed, indeed, but they’re still themselves, with all their virtues and vices and when it comes to their duo, one truth remained constant as well – once they set their minds onto something, there is no force able to stop them. The very fact they’ve honestly talked about these bizarre expectations is a proof in itself.

When Mina doesn't respond, settling back into bed on the side facing him, he decides to use the opportunity to kick off the crumbs too. Only when he turns around to lay in the similar position to her, she explains, “Don't get your hopes up, _hun_ , I've taken two to eat two, but I calculated the possibility of you waking up and disturbing my plan, so I was prepared to lose one in order to stop you from whining.”

Someone else might get offended, but AJ just chuckles. “That's more like Mina I fell for.”

His arm falls in the space separating them, offering cuddles and she closes the gap without any further words, her head landing on his biceps and her own arm sliding to his back. He puts his leg in between hers as she rests her forehead underneath his chin, then he places his free arm atop hers, bends it, so his forearm sticks to the spine between her shoulder blades. His palm curves around her nape and habit he didn’t even know he had makes his thumb caress the soft skin there. The whisper of moving sheets quiets as they relax in each other's embrace, eyes closed and waiting for sleep to take them back in.

Yet, something doesn't add up and since he’s already awake…

“Why didn't you eat them downstairs?” She feels more than hears the words.

“I had a weird dream beforehand and... it felt creepy to stay so long downstairs... alone,” she finally lets out, partially embarrassed by her brain's eerie creativity. “Your house's too big,” she grumbles to keep her face at least a bit. It’s his fault. She wouldn't have that sensation keeping her spine locked in her one-store, three rooms apartment.

“So you had a nightmare and started freaking out someone's in the house?” he sums up, no judgment in his tone.

“Not a nightmare,” she corrects, shifting her neck to look at him, the tip of her head reaching the level of his brows. “A weird dream. It wasn't scary, just...” she frowns, searching for a right adjective, “bothering. And I wasn't freaking out,” she protests in her usual way.

AJ rises his eyelids slightly, seeing her quite well despite the darkness. “It's okay, my imagination got ahead of me once or twice after moving in too. You know, when the closest neighbors are a quarter a mile away, mostly trees outside and there’re some unknown sounds from the other end of the house, it’s hard not to get freaked up. The cost of the genius,” he finishes with an amusement written on his features.

“Wait till it gets windy and branches start knocking on the windows upstairs, while the floor in the living room starts creaking. No idea why. Draft maybe? But it sounds like someone's walking on the tiptoes throughout the house,” he mentions, solemn expression on.

Truth be told, she isn’t looking forward to the experience, what has shown on her face as a frown.

“I'll just hold you tight when it happens?” he continues, squeezing her tighter in a demonstration.

Mina rolls her eyes, “Thanks. I’m a big girl. Don't need a rescue from non-existential burglars.”

“What? It's not for you, it's for me, it gets scary as fuck here,” he snorts with a _duh_ hanging in the air.

She feels like kicking him, yet decides against it, just rolls her eyes again – it feels like a millionth time during these three weeks they've been together – but a half-snore, a half-laugh leaves her nose nonetheless. She moves to the previous position, closing her eyes. “You're an idiot.”

“Your idiot.”

“It appears so.”

She knows he grins fully now as his chest tightens for a second as if the smile was coming straight from here. " _Soooo_ this is what being with Mina Okafor in a long run looks like? Eating snacks in bed at three am and snuggles?" he asks sounding pleased with his discovery.

The thumb on her nape starts gently kneading the muscles there.

“It’s been like three weeks.”

“It’s been like three years, just never before I had the pleasure of encountering you in situation as such.”

“Only before period,” she mutters flatly, trying to remove some sweetness from the situation, because her limbic system doesn't need extra encouragement to swarm her bloodstream with serotonin and oxytocin. She's still getting that very teenage girl type of tickling in her stomach whether she's reminded they're a couple now. As nice as it is, it's still making her confused to feel so goofy, especially given her firmly grounded approach to life. She doesn't remember anyone doing the same to her, not even Micah.

“I guess I'll take what I can get.”

“Sleep,” she chastises him.

“So bossy…” he mutters.

She doesn’t react, sticking to the demand herself. She’s aware he’s just trying to get another response from her, so she keeps quiet, concentrating on falling asleep.

“… is that Queen of mine…” he carries on as the caress of his thumb slows down.

Mina hopes he doesn’t feel the goosebumps rising on her forearms all of sudden and how her breath hitched up in her throat for a moment _._

_“You’re no King and I’m **not** your Queen…”_ her words from an eon before echoes through her mind. They bring her down the memory lane – the day of Devon’s bachelor camping party that turned to fiasco before it even started, two of them at the bar, talking, drinking together. His priceless apology. It made her stomach clench before the rush of triumph swarmed her veins. _Queen._ He kept calling her that and he still does.

She never thought they were flirting.

_Body language_.

Something Mina rarely paid attention to.

“… kinda turns me on.”

His thumb starts drawing more spiraling motions closer to her neck – to _the spot_ on her neck – and tingling anticipation running through the line of her spine is prompting her to make him stop the tease, for pure or sinister reasons though – she cannot decide.

“You know, those times when you’re all _there’s no chance in hell you’re doing this_ and I’m like _yeah, you won’t tell me what I can and cannot do_ and also _yeah? Tell me what to do, baby_ at the same time.”

Goddamn hormones.

She bites down on her bottom lip, telling herself not to move. They might no longer work in the same surgical team – due to ethical reasons as their working relationship wasn’t equally balanced, at least not officially – but they both have to be up and running in a less than three hours. Besides they’ve just had sex ( _ugh_ , steamy kind of joining making them lose clothes on the threshold of the bedroom and with lots of teeth involved) few hours ago. And yesterday morning. And counting the other times are not especially helping her–

“By the way, how come you've befriended my pantry so nonchalantly? Eating away my snacks?” he inquires in a normal voice now, completely abandoning the prelude he was painting.

_This idiot._

She really wants to rebuke him again, but the chuckle is out of her mouth before she can stop it and she squeezes her eyes in reprimand toward herself. To think she was just about to start marveling at his toe-curling techniques having nothing to do with his exceptional OR skills. She tells her ovaries to behave and this time he gets the kick he deserves even if that’s just inefficient hit with her heel.

“For what?”

“For not letting me sleep.”

“You didn’t answer my question,” he complains childishly, rubbing his hurt calf against her foot as if it really hurts.

Truth be told, throughout the course of their friendship Mina has grown to adore the silly part of him and since then – sometimes, she lets her own whimsical side play alongside his. Most of the time, it’s like spending time with a best friend, yet better, because _well_ … beside the joking and the laughing, she feels cherished and adored. Respected and appreciated.

Yet it doesn’t change the fact, sometimes _he’s just a pain in the ass._

“You're welcome to mine as well,” she sighs.

He snorts. “The only difference is that mine's full and your is empty."

“That’s inversely proportional to– Why do I even bother, just shut up or I’ll do it for you,” she threatens in a very Mina way.

He actually dares to snicker. “There goes that bossy–” before he finishes an inhale giving him air to end the sentence, she places her palm on his cheek and kisses him hard, shutting him up. Faint taste of chocolate lingers on her tongue.

After a few seconds, she separates them, testing the waters.

“You know that’s not exactly efficient if–” he tries to add, yet she closes his mouth with her own again.

“Enough?”

“One more.”

Of course he tries his luck.

And gets exactly what he wanted.

"Sleep now. Last warning.”

Mina resumes her position while he grumbles something incoherently, but eventually, he leaves a kiss to her hair and settles further into her embrace. Once they're set, she exhales deeply, happy to be where she is.

Only lately she understood – the madness of walking unknown grounds of being in love with him, it can become quite a luxurious experience once she let him join her in the journey. And the fact the adventure started in the first place… She’s secretly grateful for those twenty seconds of insane courage that brought them together.

Anyway, back then, in the bar, he told her she’s irreplaceable. Well, little did she know how irreplaceable he would become _for her._ Someone who would make her understand it was okay to lean on his shoulder when world was too tough on her. Someone with whom she could quarrel and be sure the fight won’t last. Someone with whom she felt comfortable being immature and quirky.

He is her King too. She will tell him someday.

She snorts shortly from inside.

Not now, _obviously_ , she doesn’t need his ego to puff up even more.

Once the musings leave her mind and small smile curves her lips, it doesn’t take long until Mina is hit with a fresh wave of drowsiness. The tightness of his hold and warmth of his body feels just too luscious to resist the sleep. Listening to August’s calm breathing helps her regulate the rhythm of her own and she doesn’t notice drifting away.


End file.
